- A stencilled hand in Indonesia is the oldest known non-figurative painting worldwide
- The artwork dates back at least 67,800 years, verified by Guinness World Records
- Researchers from Indonesia and Australia led the study published in Nature
A stencilled hand discovered in the Liang Metanduno cave on Muna Island in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, has been officially verified as the oldest known non-figurative painting in the world. The artwork has been dated to at least 67,800 years ago. The discovery was made by archaeology and archaeometry experts who studied several Palaeolithic artworks at the site. Details of the finding were published in the journal Nature on January 21 and were later formally verified by Guinness World Records as the oldest painting classified as non-figurative art.
The study involved Dr Adhi Agus Oktaviana, a researcher and archaeometry expert at Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), along with Adam Brumm and Maxime Aubert, both professors of archaeology at Griffith University in Australia.
Research aimed at dating Sulawesi cave art began in 2012, initially focusing on sites located on the island's southwestern peninsula. Several years later, the team expanded its fieldwork to the southeastern peninsula and the nearby island of Muna. It was there that researchers dated what is currently the oldest rock art discovered in the region.
Dr Adhi joined the project in 2013 as the principal in-field rock art researcher. In later years, the team worked with other experts, including geochronologist Renaud Joannes-Boyau, to develop a new and more efficient method for dating the artworks.
The researchers had previously studied and published findings on several ancient cave paintings in Sulawesi. However, they noted that no earlier discovery had reached the age of the newly dated hand stencil.
According to the researchers, fieldwork in remote locations often involved logistical difficulties and occasional personal hardships. Despite these challenges, the experience remained exciting and life-changing.
They explained that some of the biggest obstacles included securing funding for the research and carrying out the extensive laboratory work needed to develop and test the new dating method used to determine the age of the rock art.
